August 2015

It is my opinion that we live in an era of generic, bland-vanilla sameness -- especially in the business world. Most people talk a good game but when it becomes their moment they are deathly afraid of raising their head above the herd, much less to be a black sheep. This is ironic at a moment when innovators and new ideas are most needed. Yet, at both administrative and management levels, virtually every process that revolves around interview and hiring is standardized, generalized and homogenized in such a way that they will rarely meet those they need the most. Let’s consider the interview process. Most everyone’s goal is to get through it without making a mistake; so worried about it that many people who are more dynamic in other situations are lackluster when it is their turn. Many people strive in fact

Anyone who’s looked for a job, especially within the last 5 years, has encountered significantly more obstacles and limitations than in the past, erected by the very people and organizations that claim to be looking for the best available talent. This is frustrating, especially if you are a self-reliant person, who prefers to do more than register and submit to on-line processes. It can seem as if the more you attempt to help yourself the more you find yourself hitting a virtual wall. Regardless of your qualifications and experience, if you don’t get noticed or seen it doesn’t much matter, you’ll find your resume piled with those who aren’t even remotely qualified until someone might get around to you. No doubt to be successful in this very competitive job market requires more “sticktoitiveness” (yeah, that’s a real term, look it up) and

A truly dedicated and serious job seeker, applicant or candidate, is one who can juggle and multi-task. Too many people sleepwalk through the job search and subsequent interview process, only to lament their lack of positive results. There are many aspects and things anyone can augment in order to up their odds for better success. It isn’t difficult but takes commitment that most people simply will not have – this becomes an advantage for those who will and do more. Take the simple exercise of collecting and providing references. I don’t care what type of reference you use, consider what you are really doing here; you are asking someone to speak on your behalf, requesting someone to vouch for you and this should never be taken lightly. More important, they are, by agreeing to refer you, putting their reputation and good

When you are seeking to be hired, promoted or chosen for anything ahead of others, all similarly vying for the same thing, it is essential the hiring manager is happy and excited about the hiring decision they’ve made. Being just good enough to be the last resort or the final option isn’t a winning strategy. Having a well-thought-out reply to the question of, “why should anyone hire you?” is a key component of your efforts. Lacking a clear and decisive answer to that question, and others you should anticipate as likely, is negligence on your part. However, before as well as when they meet you, you must attract their attention. When meeting them, there is that thing about first impressions, but you can’t stop there; so what kind of person, what impression will they have -- of you? In sales and marketing

There are many reasons why people fail to progress during the interview process, but a significant mistake is their failure to ask questions during the interview and every subsequent step of the hiring process. Many fail to take full advantage of the event, learning as much as they can with the limited time they have with a hiring manager. A lot of people do only the bare minimum and engage only when it’s expected of them and then seem surprised when they receive no call-back or an invitation to the next step. Still others do all right but they always finish second or third and hiring officials will say, “We liked you, but…” if they tell you anything, at all. We all know that unless a company is conducting multiple hires, there is no prize for second or third-place finishers